[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3620 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3620

            To provide duty-free treatment for certain tuna.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 21, 2003

  Mr. Neal of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
            To provide duty-free treatment for certain tuna.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Trade in Pouch Tuna Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) a strong relationship between the United States and the 
        member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
        (ASEAN) is a force for stability and development in the 
        Southeast Asian region and international trade is a critical 
        element of this relationship;
            (2) many of the ASEAN nations are important friends and 
        allies in the ongoing fight against world terrorism;
            (3) ASEAN nations provide a large portion of the processed 
        tuna imported into the United States;
            (4) such imports are subject to tariffs, whereas tuna in 
        airtight pouches imported from the beneficiary countries of the 
        Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (Andean) are 
        not;
            (5) as a result, tuna in airtight pouches imported from 
        ASEAN member nations is placed at a competitive disadvantage 
        that has harmed the economies of these nations and that will 
        ultimately harm consumers in the United States; and
            (6) eliminating tariffs on pouch tuna imported from the 
        ASEAN countries in a quantity equal to the quantity imported 
        from Andean countries will restore fair trade in the pouch tuna 
        market and will benefit United States consumers and the 
        economies of the ASEAN nations.

SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DUTY TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN TUNA.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 99 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States is amended by inserting in 
numerical sequence the following new heading:

      

``    9902.16.04         Tuna in foil or   No change    Free, if the      No change         On or before 12/
                          other flexible                 product of a                        31/2006
                          containers                     country listed
                          weighing with                  in U.S. Note 17
                          their contents                 to this
                          not more than                  subchapter and
                          6.8 kg each                    in the quantity
                          (provided for                  provided for in
                          in subheading                  such Note......
                          1604.30.91)....
                                                                                                              ''

    (b) ASEAN Countries.--The U.S. Notes to subchapter II of chapter 99 
of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States are amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``17. For purposes of heading 9902.16.04:
            ``(a) Products of the following countries are eligible to 
        enter at the special rate of duty set forth in such subheading: 
        Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, 
        Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
            ``(b) The aggregate quantity of tuna entered under 
        subheading 9902.16.04 during any calendar year shall be limited 
        to the quantity of tuna entered free of duty from an ATPDEA 
        beneficiary country (as defined in section 204(b)(6)) of the 
        Andean Trade Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(6)) and 
        designated in Note 11(d) of this Schedule) during the preceding 
        calendar year pursuant to section 204(b)(4) of the Andean Trade 
        Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(4)).
            ``(c) The products of a country listed under subsection (a) 
        shall be eligible to enter at the special rate of duty set 
        forth in such subheading only if--
            ``(1) the processing of the products is carried out 
        entirely in that country;
            ``(2) the harvesting of the tuna complies with the 
        International Dolphin Consortium Program implemented under 
        title III of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 
        U.S.C. 1411 et seq.); and
            ``(3) that country provides and enforces internationally 
        recognized worker rights and environmental protections.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section apply to 
goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
the 15th day after the date of enactment of this Act.
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